Saturday, August 31, 2013

There I was having lunch with a fellow corporate zombie when
he suddenly asks, “you are going to write about us in your blog, aren’t you?” As we gazed into each other’s eyes over a
laminated table and a plate of bad chicken chow mein we slowly dissolved into
flashback…

Okay, melodramatic nonsense aside, I was approached some
time ago by said corporate zombie, who also happens to be an actor, with a
proposal. He and two actresses were looking to take greater control of their
careers by generating their own content, specifically by making a web series.

All of them were “older” actors (as in not 18-21 and
straight out of film school) with full-time jobs and they were willing to pay
for good scripts. It seems they were tired of auditioning for the unpaid
student film grind and being overlooked for younger actors or, egregiously,
models that had a “certain look”. They intended to approach three writers in
what amounted to a tender system. They would then pick the successful
candidate.

My initial response was, “hmmmm, no, not so much”. Without
sounding vain (okay, maybe a little vain), I wasn’t going to “bid” for a web
series. Besides, now that I’m working again, time is of the utmost premium and
I have a feature script to work on.

However, as I’ve known this actor a while and he’s a good
guy (don’t let this go to your head, Leon!), I said I would meet with them,
listen to their ideas, and if they wanted, I could write a one to two page
proposal (for a fee). If they agreed to explore it further we would talk.

The meeting is set and it’s in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel
in the early evening after everyone has finished their work commitments. “Pretty
upmarket”, I think, more used to cafes and pubs as the standard meeting
environment.

I don’t know one of the actresses and the other one only by
work she has done on another web series. I make an early faux pas by ordering
alcohol only to watch everyone else order tea. Okay, not that sort of meeting
then. But, damn it, I’m a writer!

Introductions are made, small talk conducted then it’s time
to get down to business. What is it they want? Now, for actors, I found the
initial discussion fascinating. They were talking about where the series would
be set. Related to questions of
budget and how they would finance the series and all these types of things.
Then it hits me, they will also be the producers if it’s their money they’re
putting up. Little warning bells go off as it means I would be writing for them
while also, technically, working under them.

Anyway, I finally get around to asking, “yes, but what would
the web series be about? What do you want to say?” This launches us into a
discussion about things I’m on much more solid ground about – theme and story
and character and tone.

Now, I can be pretty charming and engaging when I want to be
and we’re all hitting it off in fine style. So much so that by the
end of the meeting it appears I have been “hired” and the tender process
scrapped. I have no real idea what this thing is yet but everybody seems
positive.

The next meeting is on home turf – the big Dome in East Vic
Park. I’m still not sure what the series is about as the ideas so far (based on
the actors’ suggested locations) seem very dry. But then that magic all writers
crave happens – someone says something in passing and my screenwriting brain jumps about 23 steps and suddenly I know what I want to write. I pitch this new
idea – a subversion of what they originally proposed – and it is
enthusiastically embraced. Now I get excited which is absolutely vital if I’m
going to write this thing as possibilities open up all over the place. I have a
sense of tone and place and possible storylines and characters.

The next meeting and a director is in attendance. Likes the
idea, speaks very well, has interesting stories to tell. Another little warning
bell goes off in my head as the actors are talking crew and equipment and
marketing and all sorts of other things and I am yet to write a single scripted
word. But passion and enthusiasm isn’t necessarily guaranteed by all parties working
on a project so there’s that at least. What is far more relevant to me is how
many episodes and of what length. The initial response is 10 episodes of 5-7
minutes each.

Later I am asked for an idea of my fee and we agree on a
figure to write a “bible” for the series and then a per episode amount. I am
mindful that this is their own money and I am appreciative that they want to
conduct this as a professional transaction.

Plans are being made for a website and marketing tools and
ancillary content, all manner of things. But that’s not my concern. My first
task is to produce the bible by 1 October – character breakdowns, story arcs,
episode guides, themes, the world of the series; basically everything I need to
write the episodes.

I haven’t gone into specific details of the project as that
is the actors’ province to announce when they are ready. There is a working
title, a tag line, a whole lot of early notes, and a slowly coalescing idea in
my head of what this is…

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Yes, you read it here first... unless you noticed the title and read it there first. But a first it is... a name change!

Not since November 2009 (actually well before that when this blog was originally hosted on Telstra's bigblog platform... but I don't like to talk about that. Just kidding - it appears all traces have disappeared of that incarnation... where was I? Oh, yes... meet you on the other side of the parenthesis...) has the title of this obscure corner of cyberspace been altered.

But in a concession to my wayward, theatre attending ways, "... & Theatre" has now been added.

Sure, I don't expect news broadcasts to stop normal programming to air this piece of breaking information but there you have it. Enjoy, lovers of film AND stage!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Okay, yes, I know what you're thinking... "What a terrible title! I mean, how many bad puns can Hyde fit into the one sentence?"

*raises hand* Guilty as charged.

But we'll come to the courtroom drama later.

First, as is my occasional want, it's time to shine a light on a local creative endeavour that is asking for a little love and attention. Sure, they're really after your hard earned $$$ but a hug and some enthusiastic applause would be met with equal gratitude.

Upstart Theatre Company believes in giving its audiences memorable and visceral experiences.

We believe in our audience's ability to think, criticise and make decisions. We believe this should never be disregarded.

We believe in new spaces, old spaces and that any space filled with an actor and an audience is a theatre.

We believe that Western Australia produces great theatre artists who deserve national and international recognition.

We believe these artists deserve a company that will grow to support their careers.

We believe mistakes are gifts.

We believe in taking forward steps in our craft every day.

We believe in ourselves.

However, as a fiercely independent company Upstart rely on the support of the theatre going public to help sustain their creative ambitions. I was recently at the lavish production of Cats at the Regal Theatre and there was almost a wistful remark by one of their member about what they could do with even a fraction of that money. Alas, such things are not to be. There is, however, Pozible! (I'll explain it to you later, Andrew Lloyd Webber)

Yes, Upstart are mining the rich vein that is crowdfunding for a remounting of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, a "courtroom drama" where Judas is put on trial for his betrayal of Christ. You can see their Pozible pitch here but I thought I'd do a testimonial of sorts.

To date I have seen four Upstart productions - The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Animal.

I always struggle a little with Shakespeare but that's because my ears are tuned to FM in what is an AM world with ye olde English. What I will say is that they are tackled with great verve and there was a particularly novel approach with A Midsummer Night's Dream where the audience followed the action from "set" to "set". These crowd pleasers allow Upstart to tackle other material and this is where I think they really shine.

Three highlights (amongst many) - a powerhouse penultimate scene between Braye Dial as Judas Iscariot and Simon Thompson as Jesus; Kingsley Judd takes a beautifully written monologue at least 10 minutes long and hits it out of the ballpark; Desiree Crossing's character breaking down as she damns Satan as a liar.

Full house at The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

I was very impressed with this piece and it is deliciously dark and very funny. Yes, it is long but it deserves your full attention and the last two scenes are flat out brilliant. I was really happy to see that by the end of its run it was playing to packed houses as word of mouth spread. I would definitely recommend its "encore season".

This is a brilliantly written play - layered, brutal, provocative, sly, heartbreaking - with every setup paid off to telling effect. Nothing is wasted or misplaced here. It is beautifully acted by Kingsley, Sally and Patrick who clearly relish working with such quality material.

The tale of human drug experimentation in a time of civil unrest is indeed harrowing but there is plenty of dark humour here as well. The chilling conclusion, however, has ramifications far beyond the intimate portrayal of patient, doctor, nurse.

It really is exceptional theatre and highly recommended.

Pakenham Street Art Space

In short, Upstart tackle challenging pieces with great skill and inventiveness in a cool performance space. They deserve an audience and the generosity of people like you, the reader, to continue to survive and thrive.

If you can, please support their Pozible campaign when it opens on the 24th. If not, I sincerely recommend you check out one of their shows some time - experience tells me you won't be disappointed.

Richard Hyde

Final thoughts:

There are other independent theatre companies in WA doing excellent work equally deserving of love, affection and $$$ (anyone who saw the magnificent Madame Piaf would be nodding their head vigorously). The amount of talent in WA is inspiring. www.theatre.asn.au is an excellent resource for reviews and to find out what gems are on and where.

For ostensibly a screenwriting blog I seem to spend a lot of time talking about theatre lately. One of the joys of supporting actor friends I guess. Perhaps I need to amend the title of this blog...?

Saturday, August 10, 2013

A fabulous cast of performers doing fabulous things on stage - acting, singing, dancing, emoting, all that good stuff.

Cut to:

Audience... stony faced, arms crossed, staring straight ahead.

Cut back to the stage:

Collective inner pout.

OR

Cast doing fabulous things on stage, singing, dancing, being in the moment, inhabiting, listening, projecting, all that good stuff.

Cut to:

Audience... laughing, smiling, clapping, stomping their feet, throwing underw-- ahem, that was only that one time... and I must admit it was, um, well deserved. Kudos, er, Sir!

Anywho, as the kids say, where was I?

Ah, yes! Being in an audience when it comes to live performance, I believe, has its own obligations. You are, in many ways, a participant, not merely an impassive observer. If you feed off the cast's energy and return it, they in turn will feed off your response and it becomes a symbiotic relationship that enhances the experience for ALL involved.

I raise this because an interesting thing happened during the week. A week where I went to not one but three musical theatre shows. The second of which was in a very intimate space which seated maybe three dozen to watch what turned out to be a fabulous show about Edith Piaf.

I was sitting next to the musicians - double bass player, guitarist and keyboardist (who also played accordion... it was Piaf after all). When the show finished - to a standing ovation I might add - I turned and congratulated them. To which they thanked me for being a great audience member. Okay, that was kind of nice.

Afterwards, when people are waiting around for the cast to come out I get big hugs from "Edith" herself and my other friend who was in the show and again, I am thanked for laughing in all the right spots. Another actress, who I have never met before, gets all excited and I think referred to me as the "perfect audience member". Okay, that was all really kind of nice. Never forgetting though that it's their talent and hard work that's at the forefront here.

But for me this isn't anything I don't do at every show. If something is funny I will laugh. If something is cleverly written I laugh or clap or cluck approvingly. If something is poignant or insightful I'll also generally 'hmmmmm' audibly.

Now, to be sure, I have a distinctive laugh and many an actor friend has told me they know I am in the audience because of it. What they seemed to be saying that night is that because I was into it early the rest of the audience also came along for the ride and participated.

I don't know about that but here's the thing - you don't need permission to laugh and to show you're enjoying proceedings. The cast really do notice and they love it. When they talk about flat audiences or difficult shows it's because they're not getting anything back. Don't be afraid to respond - it may be the theatre but it's not a mausoleum in there! Give a little and you might just get something extraordinary back...